Linking the Chain
by Pata Hikari
Summary: While searching for Riku and Mickey, Sora and Company stumble across a strange place where they are promised to find what they desire, at a price. A strange place called Castle Oblivion... Chain of Memories Novelization
1. Drawing it together

The grasslands spread out for miles. Endless stretches of grass, with only the occasional tree sticking up. A dirt pathway cut through the grass, stretching as far as the rest of the land.

Three people were walking on the path. A tall dog walking on two legs. He was wearing a thick long sleeved green shirt. A yellow-orange vest with various large pockets along with thick stitched pants. His yellow boots had steel tips on the fronts. A hat that seemed too small for his head was stuck on top of it, with some goggles wrapped around it. His face was gentle, with a long snout that ended in a round nose. Two teeth could be seen sticking out from his mouth. He walked with a wide step, his arms, with white gloves on his hands, moved in a wide arc. His long ears flapping with each step.

Next to him was a short, only half the dog's height, duck. He waddled along the path, wearing a blue shirt with many pockets like the dogs vest. He was also wearing a hat with metallic strips running across it.

At the left of the duck, there was a boy. He appeared to be about fourteen. With spiky brown hair that stuck out on his head. He was wearing a silver vest with a red coverall that formed both a shirt and pants. A silver pendant shaped like a crown hung from his neck on a chain. Large yellow shoes made quiet thuds as he walked. His hands, covered with fingerless gloves, were held behind his head.

The three were an unusual looking group, to say the least. Yet they had managed to stave off Darkness so powerful that the whole universe had been threatened.

Each and every star had threatened to fade, vanishing into the abyss. Yet these three had prevailed, against every odd, taking on armies of creatures that felt nothing and ravaged everything.

"Darn it!" The duck suddenly shouted, in a quacking voice that was difficult to understand without either effort, close acquaintance, or a translator. "Where is that mutt?"

"Now, now Donald." The dog said in a simple and gentle voice. "Just because Pluto's a little ahead of us doesn't mean anything."

"What do you know?" The duck Donald snapped.

"Well…" the dog began.

"Guys!" the boy shouted, "Look. I know that we've been wandering for hours. And that we lost sight of Pluto after the first five minutes. And that there's no end in sight. And…" He trailed off, sighing in defeat.

"Gawarsh Sora," The dog patted the boy on the shoulder, "Don't worry. All we have to do is keep following the path and we'll reach our destination!"

"And that is?" Donald asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't know. I hope there's something to eat there though…"

"Thanks Goofy…" Sora smiled weakly, "But Donald's right. We need to find a way to save Riku and the King. All we have to go by is this path, and that dog." He looked around the grasslands.

"Well, don't worry about a thing!" A new voice said. A small cricket, wearing a suit and top hat, hopped out of one of Goofy's pockets, "Remember Sora, you're the Keyblade Master!"

Sora laughed softly, "Thanks Jiminy."

"He's right you know." Goofy said, "As long as you're here. As long as we're together, nothing can stop us!" He patted Sora on the back.

Sora smiled, "You're right."

"Yeah, yeah." Donald said drolly, "Come on! Let's keep moving.

* * *

Night came. The stars glistened with a peaceful light, while the moon shone down upon the ground. 

A fire was burning brightly, keeping the four traveling companions warm. Sora was lying down, looking up at the sky. He could hear his friends making the gentle sounds of sleeping. (OK, in Goofy's case it was more like the racket of snoring) Sora couldn't sleep, and he had a few good reasons too.

"What am I going to do?" He asked himself, "If… if the worlds are separate again. How am I going to find Riku? Or get home?" Riku, Sora's oldest and best friend. The two had been friends longer then either could remember, yet the last time Sora had seen him he had been sealed away, for who knows how long?

Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds, where the brightest light was covered by the deepest darkness. Sora didn't understand what it was. Though, in all honesty, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Well, what now?" Sora sat up, "Can't you guys give me any clues?" He asked the stars, even though he knew that they couldn't answer him. Sora held up his hand, "What about you?" There was a flash of white light and a burst of tiny stars. "Nah. You wouldn't know either."

In Sora's hand was a large, about two feet long, silver key. It was old fashioned looking, a simple round rod with some teeth sticking out at the end. Sora was holding the key by a golden handle. A small silver keychain dangled from the handle, two small circles atop a larger one.

The Keyblade.

Sora had never found it very odd, that he held what many called the most powerful weapon in the universe. It had always felt like a part of him, an extension of his own body. In fact the one time that someone else had held the Keyblade, he had felt empty, something had been missing.

He stood up, spinning the Keyblade in his hand. "I wonder… which star is home?" Memories of his island home flashed through his mind. Of his friends, and family. "Tidus… is your dad OK? Wakka… did Chappu give you back your autographed blitzball? Mom, Dad… are you both alright? Kairi… will you be OK without us?" He sighed, looking at the Keyblade, "Guess you wouldn't know of any way to fix all this would you?"

"_There is a way to find the answers you seek…"_

"Huh? Who's there?" Sora spun around, grasping the Keyblade with both hands.

Nothing. All that was there was the dirt path, still stretching onwards. Yet, there was something about it that called him. "Maybe it's a little ahead…" He walked along the path a short distance.

"Huh?" Sora had reached a split in the path. "Wait…" It looked like he had been traveling on one of the forks, because he could see two other dirt paths to the side of him, converging into one.

"_Ahead lies something you hold dear."_

A person completely covered in a long black coat appeared on the path. Its hood was up, shadowing its face. "_But to find it… you must lose something important to you."_ The person beckoned to Sora, pointing to the path that the other three merged into one. "Go…"

* * *

She sat in her room. Sketch pad on her lap. Colored pencils in her hands. 

She was alone. So she would draw.

Draw pictures of mystery and truth. Pictures of happiness and sadness. Pictures of the Heart and Soul. Pictures of Light and Darkness.

The pictures of Dreams and Memory.

All contained in a little sketch pad…

* * *

It was a castle suspended in a void. That is where the path led them. It was a light brown color. With the tops of the towers being greenish blue. The towers stuck out in all directions, not just up but left, right and even down. It was a twisted building that seemed to defy logic. 

"Wow…" Goofy said, "Sure is strange lookin'."

"It is…" Sora walked up to the castle, it seemed to be both close and far away. "But I feel… like something's important there."

"I feel it too." Donald fell in step behind Sora, "You think King Mickey might be in there?"

"Yeah! And maybe Riku is there as well!" Sora smiled, "Maybe I'm feeling his heart…"

"Wait for me!" Goofy shouted, running after the two.

* * *

Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off **Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories** By Disney and SquareEnix

Chapter One: Drawing it together

They quickly reached the castle, reaching it faster then they would have thought possible, pushing open the great doors that made up the entrance.

Inside the castle was quite different then the outside. While the outside was chaotic and random, the inside was pure white, cold, and orderly.

"You know, I think the King might just be in here." Goofy paused, "Weird."

"It isn't a coincidence!" Jimmy jumped out of Sora's pocket, "I have this powerful feeling… someone important to me is here." He adjusted his hat, "This is no ordinary place."

"Hmm… maybe we should shut the door…" Goofy turned around. "Gawarsh! The door's gone!"

"What?" Sora turned back; there was only a blank wall where the door had once been.

"Impossible!" Donald shouted.

"No… I assure you, it's quite possible." The hooded person appeared again, the voice sounding confident.

"It's him…" Sora whispered.

"He looks like the guy we fraught in Hollow Bastion!" Donald growled, pulling out his wand, "Eat this! **_Graviga!"_**

Nothing.

"Wha?" Donald shook his wand, "Firaga!" Only silence followed… "Blizzard? Aero?" Donald's eye twitched, he screamed incoherently and waved the wad around wildly, "Why won't it work?"

"It's quite simple." The cloaked person said with a laughing tone, "Once you set foot in this castle you forgot every skill and ability you learned."

"Huh?" Sora reached inside himself, trying to pull out the Keyblade. Yet, despite the fact that he could still feel it inside of him… he couldn't quite remember how to pull it out, despite the fact that it was normally instinct.

"Yes. Even the Keyblade is beyond your grasp. Such is the way of Castle Oblivion" The cloaked person spread its arms out wide, "Where to find is to lose and to lose is to find." The cloaked person blurred, becoming mere movement, dashing **through** Sora.

Sora gasped and his eyes widened, thousands of images running through his head.

_icantwaitoncewesetsailthedoorhasopenedyouunderstandsolittletheyllcomeafteryouaslongasyoucontinuetoweildthatkeybladethekeybladechoosesitsmasteranditchoseyousfriendsinourheartsyouguysaintheroeitriedtoexploitthepowerofdarknessiwishyouwerefreewhatmakesaheartanywaywehavenoneedforyouoryourkeyyouthinkyoucandefeatmethemistressofallevilthiskeybladehasthepowertounlockpeoplesheartskairisheartlieswithinyouiamansemtheseekerofdarknessitsmyluckycharmallworldsbeginindarknesseverylightmustfadeeveryheartreturntodarknessnowsoraletsclosethisdoorforgood…There will always be a door to the light…Take care of her…I know you will…_

Sora stumbled back, nearly collapsing. Goofy caught him before he could hit the ground. The boy was wide eyed and had broken into a cold sweat. "What did you do?" Donald leaned over Sora, desperately trying to cast a Cure spell.

"Unn…" Sora snapped out of the daze, "That… was weird."

"I have sampled your memories." The hooded person said, "They have proved most… enlightening."

"My… memories?" Sora walked towards the hooded person.

"Yes." The hooded person held up its hand, a white card was held in it. It had three points on top with a crown shape. "Catch." The card flew towards Sora.

Sora's hand reached up, catching the card automatically. He looked down at it; the card had a familiar image of old-fashioned buildings.

"Use the card to progress." The hooded person said, pointing to the end of the entryway. "Everything in Castle Oblivion comes from the cards." With a rushing sound, the person vanished.

"Sora…?" Jiminy said, "This is strange… I think we should leave.

"But then what?" Sora whispered, "We keep on wandering through that field? This is the only clue we have."

"He's right you know." Donald folded his arms, "We have no choice. The door's gone." His eyes narrowed, "I don't like it though… the next time we see that guy, I'll show him a fireball!"

"How you going to do that if you can't remember your magic?" Goofy asked.

Donald jumped up, grabbing Goofy by the ear. "Shut up." He growled.

"Come on!" Sora rolled his eyes at his friends bickering, "Let's get going." He picked up Jiminy, the cricket jumped into his pocket. He then started walking towards the end of the hall. Donald and Goofy trailed after him.

The hall ended with another large set of double doors. Only this one had no way of opening them. They pushed at the doors, feeling around for any handle. Nothing.

"How do we open this?" Sora wondered, looking at the card. "He said we need this…" He held the card up, holding it against the door. The card began to glow, the door glowing to match. It opened a crack.

"It's working!" Donald exclaimed.

The door burst open, revealing a bright white light behind it. It covered everything, making the room vanish.

* * *

"Unnn…" Sora opened his eyes. "Huh?" He looked around; his friends were laying beside him "Donald! Goofy! Wake up!" 

"Huh?" Donald opened his eyes, "Wha…?" He looked at Goofy, "Wake up!" He whacked Goofy with his wand.

"Huh?" Goofy sat up, "Where are we?" They were in a dark forest; the night sky could be seen. Large trees loomed above them. "This place looks familiar…"

"Look!" Sora pointed out to the distance, a large stone wall with a huge gate could be seen. A neon sign that said "Entrance" was attached over the gate. "It's Traverse Town!"

"It can't be…" Donald whispered.

A rushing sound and the cloaked person appeared again.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, "How are we in Traverse Town?"

"You are not." The hooded person answered. "You are still in Castle Oblivion. This world you see is merely an illusion created from your memory, Sora.

"An illusion?" Sora bent down, picking a strand of grass. "It feels so real…"

"Memory often does feel real." The hooded person said, "The cards took your memory and gave them life."

Sora gasped as the strand of grass suddenly vanished in a burst of light. Leaving behind a green card with the image of it. "What the?"

"Like I said. Your memory of grass became a card. Then the cards made the grass in this world."

"Amazing…" Goofy pressed his hand against a tree, "It doesn't feel like a card, that's for sure!"

"With the cards, you can take your memories and make them real again. With the cards, you can fight. Reach into yourself, find the Keyblade. Make it part of the cards." The hooded person reached into its cloak, "Because not all memories are pleasant." A black card was pulled out. The hooded person threw the card to the ground. It stopped, hovering for a moment, before bursting into a flash of black.

A small creature appeared. It hunched over, vaguely insect like. Its antennae twitched as its glowing yellow eyes looked around hungrily. Its eyes turned to Sora.

"Gah!" Sora dashed back as the creature leapt at him, "Heartless!" A Shadow Heartless. The dark creature swiped at Sora again. Sora kicked the Heartless, knocking it back. "Help!"

Goofy pulled out his shield. "Come on Donald!"

"Right!" Donald held his wand defensively.

"No." The hooded person stepped in front of the two, "Sora must learn how to use the cards. Then you two may learn."

Sora growled, "Stay back you stupid Heartless!" That's when he felt something. A card had appeared in his hand. It was sky blue, with the image of the Keyblade on it. "Huh?" Sora held up the card, "Um… please work?" The card suddenly burst into starry light, growing longer and stronger. A second later, the Keyblade was in Sora's hands again. "All right!" Sora grinned, clutching the weapon with both hands.

The Heartless leapt at him, but Sora swung the Keyblade, cutting straight through it. It vanished in a burst of black smoke. Leaving behind the card, which Sora could see had a picture of a Shadow on it.

"Very good." The hooded person said, "Take the card. Consider it a prize; you will be able to use its powers."

Sora examined the Shadow card, "It's my memory of these kinds of Heartless, isn't it?"

"Exactly. In Castle Oblivion, memories are the most powerful weapon of all." The hooded person stepped back, "Good luck, Keyblade Master, may you find what you seek." There was a rushing sound, and nobody was there anymore.

Sora looked at the two cards in his hands. "Well, let's go." He headed towards Traverse Town.

* * *

The gates were pushed open, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked into the First District. 

"Wow…" Sora looked around, everything; from the stone cobble ground to the unusual streetlamps to the cozy brick buildings. It was all there, exactly like he remembered it. People off all kinds were walking through the square. Even a Moogle or two could be seen! Sora poked a Moogle's pom-pom. The large red fuzz-ball bounced over its head. "It's all real…"

"Hey! Why the kupo did you do that?" The Moogle looked up at Sora, glaring.

Sora flushed, "Sorry, I… I was just seeing if it was real."

"Well it's real kupo!" The Moogle shook its head, "Why do people always kupo around with it…"

"Enough playing around." Donald grabbed Sora's arm. "Let's find out what we need here."

Sora nodded to the Moogle before continuing on.

They walked past the Café; some people were drinking coffee and other drinks. Sora waved to some of the people who he had talked to often whenever he had visited Transverse Town. Yet, they just seemed to ignore him. In fact… they didn't even look at him…

* * *

"Hello?" Goofy knocked on the door of the Item Shop. "Anybody there?" Nothing, he jiggled the knob for a moment. "Odd… why would it be locked? Huey! Dewy! Louie! You boys in there?" 

"Cid?" Donald shouted into the locked Accessory Shop. "Cid!" Donald slammed his fist against the door.

"Guys?" Sora pulled at the door the Item Synthesis Shop. "Come on? It's me, Sora! Remember that keychain you made me?"

"Come on Geppetto! Pinocchio! It's me Jiminy!" Jiminy peered into the window of Geppetto's shop. "Are you guys there?"

"This doesn't make any sense." Sora folded his arms, "All the buildings are locked. Nobody really recognizes us… I just don't get it."

"Maybe we should try the Second District." Goofy shrugged, "Maybe there's somebody there."

"Probably." Sora sighed, "Who or what are we supposed to find, anyway?"

"If you're looking for someone, you came to the right place."

A man walked out of the shadows. He was older then Sora, in his early twenties. He was wearing an open leather shirt. A white tank top was underneath the leather shirt. There was a charm shaped like a cross with a lion's head on top hanging from his neck on a chain. This same symbol was emblazoned in red on the sleeves of his shirt He was wearing black pants, shoes, and gloves. Various belts and straps were across his waist and even his right arm. His messy brown hair strung about his shoulders, dropping around his neutral face.

"Leon!" Sora sighed with relief, "It's good to see you again!"

Leon raised an eyebrow, "Do I know you?"


	2. Forgetting to Remember

Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off **Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories** By Disney and SquareEnix.

Chapter 2: Forgetting to Remember

"What?" Sora stared at Leon, "What do you mean Leon? We fought the Heartless together! We're friends! You helped me out a lot!"

Leon shook his head, "I've never seen you before in my life. I'm sorry, Sora, I just don't know you."

"Hey!" Donald jumped up, "You just called him Sora! You do know him!"

"What are you talking about Donald? I don't know any of-" Leon stopped, "Wait… how do I know you people's names?"

"Well, Squall, maybe Aerith was on to something after all."

A girl walked into the area. She was about Sora's age, slightly taller then him, with black hair that dropped around her side. She was wearing a green tube top with yellow shorts and a scarf.

Leon gave the girl a glare, "The name is Leon."

"Yuffie!" Sora smiled, "Are you acting weird too?"

"Hey Sora." Yuffie waved, giving Sora a little wink. "Donald! Goofy! How's it going?"

"You remember us?" Goofy asked hopefully.

"Nope!" Yuffie grinned widely, "Never seen the three of you before in my life." She laughed, "Yet for some reason I know your names." She shrugged, "Oh well, it saves us the trouble of introductions."

Sora sighed, "But **_I_** remember you people…" He looked at them, "What are all of you doing in Castle Oblivion anyway?"

"Castle Oblivion?" Leon stared at Sora, "This is Traverse Town."

"Never heard of any Castle Oblivion." Yuffie walked up to Sora. "Where'd you come from anyway?"

Sora sighed, "You know what, never mind. Can we see Aerith?"

"You know her too?" Yuffie asked.

"Yes…" Sora sighed.

"OK!" Yuffie grabbed Sora's hand, "I'll lead the way! She's at her room in the Second District." She began dragging Sora away.

Donald looked at Leon. "You **_sure_** you don't remember?"

Leon folded his arms, "I'm sorry. I really have no memory of anything but your names." He walked off, "Yuffie! Don't rip his arm off!" He called.

Donald looked at the stone ground. "Hmm…" He folded his arms. "Strange…"

"What is it Donald?" Goofy looked over his old friend.

"Oh, I'm just thinking." Donald shook his head, "Come on, let's go see Aerith."

* * *

The Second District was two sidewalks lined with shops. A dip in the middle of the district had a fountain on one end and the entrance to a strange building called the Gizmo Shop on the other.

Yuffie was still pulling Sora by the arm. Leon was walking slowly in step behind them.

"So what else do you remember us doing?" Yuffie looked back, grinning at Sora.

"Well, I remember you dragging me around like this…" Sora grinned sheepishly.

"Good to hear." Yuffie laughed, "At least we're doing what you remember." She looked ahead. Suddenly stopping in her tracks.

"Oh…" Sora looked ahead. Over a dozen black cards had suddenly appeared. The circled around them. Bursting into flashes of darkness.

"Heartless…" Leon hissed, bitterness and hatred in his voice.

"You remember these?" Yuffie whispered. Sora nodded, reaching into his pocket.

"Let's do this…" Sora held up his Keyblade card.

"Right!" Yuffie pulled out a card, Leon did too.

"Huh?" Sora looked at the two, "Where'd you get those…?" The two cards flashed in their hands.

A large sword with a hilt shaped like a revolving pistol appeared in Leon's hand. Leon clutched the Gunblade in his hands, grinning viscously.

Yuffie held up her giant shuriken, the Conformer, spinning it around in her hand.

Sora stared at the two. _Why do they have those too?_ He summoned the Keyblade, holding it up in a defensive position.

Shadow Heartless circled around some larger ones. More human like, with shoes and gloves and an open knights helmets, Solider Heartless. Hovering about them were small ones, almost looking like red bells with cloaks on. A yellow pointed hat was placed on them, their yellow eyes poking out, Red Rhapsody Heartless.

"Take this!" Leon shouted, smashing the Gunblade downwards on a Shadow.

A Solider leapt at Sora, he held out the Keyblade, catching the Heartless. He then spun the Keyblade, flinging the Solider into a Red Rhapsody .

Yuffie threw the Conformer, it spun in a wide arc, cutting through six Shadows before they ducked flat into the ground.

The cards hit the ground for a moment, but before Sora could grab them, other Heartless picked them up, causing them to reform. "Oh geez!" Yuffie complained, "They always do that!"

* * *

"Oh no!" Goofy pulled out his shield. "They're being swarmed!" Donald and Goofy had been trailing behind Sora, letting him catch up with Leon and Yuffie.

"Yeah, yeah." Donald shook his wand, "They're just Shadows and Soldiers. Besides… **_My magic won't work!"_** Donald sighed, "I should have asked Sora how he did that card thing…" He growled, "Work!" He threw out his hand…

And it burst into flame.

"Donald!" Goofy ducked down, "Your hand!"

"It's… not hot." Donald stared at the flame. It reminded him of when he had first been learning magic. Of how he had been so excited to first make a simple light. The fire in his hand shifted, becoming a blue card with a fireball emblazoned on it. "So that's how it works…" Donald laughed, "Never thought that it really was as simple as memory!"

"Well, that's what the hooded guy said…" Goofy shrugged.

* * *

It didn't matter how many Heartless they cut down, the rest of them would gather the fallen cards and resurrect their brethren.

"How do we deal with this?" Sora swung the Keyblade like a baseball bat, knocking a fireball straight back at the Red Rhapsody that had shot it.

"**_Fire!"_** Donald shouted, as a plume of flame shot out through the Heartless, clearing a path. He and Goofy rushed through the gap.

"Grab the cards!" Sora shouted, but it was too late. The Heartless Donald had blasted had been revived.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Donald quacked.

"It's the cards…" Sora shook his head, "They can come back to life as long as…"

"There's someone to revive them!" Leon shouted, "Yuffie! Ready?" Yuffie nodded, and both of them withdrew their weapons, causing them to become cards again. Then Leon held his card in the air, it flashed. He moved it to the left, now there were two cards. The card flashed a second time, then Leon moved it up. Creating three cards in a triangle pattern. He pressed against the three cards, causing them to burst into a white flame. The Gunblade appeared in Leon's hands, glowing with a powerful light. "**_Lionheart!"_** Leon rushed foreword, slashing through the Heartless at insane speeds.

Yuffie did the same, somehow making three cards from one. Her Conformer appeared, glowing with a powerful light. "**_All Creation!"_** She threw the shuriken into the air, a beam of light shot out of it, tearing through the Heartless.

Only one Shadow remained. It looked to the left, then the right. Its antennae drooped when it realized that there was nobody to help it.

Then Goofy jumped on top of it, crushing it with his shield "Victory!" Donald shouted triumphantly.

"…" Sora looked at Leon and Yuffie, "What was that?"

"You've never seen a slight?" Yuffie asked.

"Humph." Leon said, "If you don't know the basics you're little more then Heartless fodder."

Sora folded his arms, sighing. Great… he's back to treating me like a kid. "Well then, can you tell me how to use these… what did you call them?"

"Slights." Leon rolled his eyes, "I'm guessing you know how to use the basic cards." He held up his Gunblade card. "First you focus your power on the card. The more power you put into one, the more you can make."

"Got it." Sora held up the Keyblade card and focused. The card flashed… and a second one appeared.

"Good! Now do it again."

Sora nodded, closing his eyes for focus. A third card appeared.

"Excellent." Leon said with some pride, "Now you have three of those cards instead of one."

The three cards merged. "Yes!" Sora smiled, "Now I can do those slights now… right?"

"Yes." Leon nodded, "Slights are abilities you use by combining cards. However, using a slight will cause one of the cards to vanish. So try and keep a steady supply."

"Yeah yeah." Yuffie yawned, "Lesson over! Come on, the hotel is this way." Yuffie began walking again.

"Give me a moment…" Sora pulled out the Shadow card he had picked up earlier. To his surprise, it flashed and the twelve other Shadow cards lying around flew into it. "Weird…" Sora walked over and picked up eight Red Rhapsody and ten Solider cards; the same thing happened. "Oh well…"

"Wait for us Yuffie!" Goofy shouted.

* * *

Aerith was a tall young woman. She wore a simple sleeveless pink dress. Her light brown hair dropped down her back in a ponytail. Two bangs hung on the sides of her face. Her gentle green eyes seemed to shine as she saw Yuffie enter the room, Sora and the others coming soon after.

"Hello there," Aerith smiled, she was sitting down on her red bed. "Oh… Sora… wait." She closed her eyes, shaking her head, "How do I know your name?"

"I have no idea. I and Squall know their names too." Yuffie pointed to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "What's even weirder is that they say they've met us before."

"You know us?" Aerith asked.

"Yes Ma'am." Goofy nodded, "You three were a big help."

Sora sighed, "This stinks. So much for what Leon said last time… before I went to the End of the World."

"What did I say?" Leon asked.

Sora shook his head, "You said: 'Even if we never see each other again-'"

"…we'll never forget each other." Leon whispered, his eyes wide.

Donald gasped, "You **_do_** remember!"

"Hey!" Yuffie stepped back, "I remember you saying that!"

"Me too…" Aerith stood up, "There's something odd going on here."

"Perhaps you all forgot how to remember?" Goofy said helpfully.

Donald quacked in disagreement, "That's stupid! How could someone forget how to remember?"

"I think I did once…" Goofy scratched his head. "Then again… if I did, would I remember it?"

Donald slapped his forehead. "Just… be quiet."

"Maybe…" Aerith paused, "Just maybe, Sora's remembering for us."

"What's that mean?" Yuffie asked.

"I mean… Sora remembers us, so his heart remembers us. His heart is speaking to ours, causing us to remember him." Aerith blushed, "It sounds silly, I know, but it **_might_** work."

"That sounds right…" Sora sighed, "Thanks for the help Aerith. I'm going to go over to Cid's. Maybe he remembers me."

* * *

"I don't get it…" Goofy said, walking behind Sora. "Nobody knows **_anything."_**

"Except for things they shouldn't know." Donald added, "Like those cards."

"It's strange." Sora muttered, they walked down an alleyway. Stopping in front of the door to the Third District. Sora quickly pushed it open.

The Third District was smaller then the other two. It was made with blueish gray stone. Neon lights shot all over the few buildings. In one corner, there was a fountain with a lighted statue of two dogs.

Standing by a door that led to the exit of the District, there was an older man. He was wearing a white shirt with a thick belt around his waist. He adjusted his blue jeans, turning to look at the group.

"Well, 'ello there! If it ain't Sora!" The man smiled widely. Then he stepped back, "Wait… I've never seen you before." He shrugged, "Well, you sure do look like a Sora. I just call 'em as I see 'em."

Sora forced a smiled, "It's OK Cid. You got my name right."

"Heh, I'm good." Cid chuckled, he pointed to the other two, "And… you two are Donald and Goofy, am I right?"

"That's right." Goofy nodded. Cid smirked.

"Well…" Sora smiled, "How you doing Gramps?"

"Hey! You know I hate it when you call me Gramps!" Cid shouted good-naturedly.

"I thought you didn't know me?" Sora smirked.

"Huh? Weird…" Cid shook his head, "Maybe we met somewhere…" He shrugged, "Well, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Sora answered, holding his hands behind his friends.

"I'm flattered." Cid said, "Anyway. I'm waiting for the old clock to ring."

"Why?" Donald asked.

Cid smirked, "I hear there's this tale that says that something big happens when the Clock rings."

The air rang with a sound.

_Dong….dong….dong….dong…_

"It's ringing!" Goofy whispered.

_Dong….dong….dong….dong…_

"Let's see what happens…" Cid said excitedly.

_Dong….dong….dong….dong…_

Cards started to swirl around the Third District. The cards stopped in front of Sora. Spinning around each other in a chaotic dance. "What's going on?" Sora asked.

The cards spiraled together, becoming one. Black light formed all around it, growing, and changing shape. Five distinct parts. Two massive arms shaped like gauntlets. Two feet shaped like armored boots. A heat shaped like a helmet. All hovering around a massive cylindrical body, with a horrifying symbol on it. A black heart with a red outline. Two lines crossed across the heart to make an "X."

It was not just a shape, it as an emblem that symbolized an evil that could destroy the universe. The symbol of the Heartless.

A Guard Armor Heartless.

"Holy crap!" Cid shouted.

Sora's eyes widened, "Get out of here!" He ordered Cid.

"Hey! You're just a kid!" Cid said, concerned.

"Don't worry about me…" It dawned onto Sora, "Get Leon! I'll hold it back!"

Cid paused, before nodded, "OK. Don' know why, buy I trust ya kid." Cid turned and rushed out of the area.

"All right." Sora narrowed his eyes at the huge Heartless. "You guys know the drill!" He pulled out his card, the Keyblade appearing in his hand. "Lets do this…"

Donald pulled back, pulling out his wand. Goofy held up his shield, ready to defend Donald.

The Guard Armor turned to Donald, one of its gauntlets flying towards him. Goofy jumped in the way, holding back the attack with his shield. He grunted, being pushed back slowly by the still advancing fist.

Donald closed his eyes, with a burst of erratic light, another card appeared. It was blue, with a lightning bolt on it. "Yes!" Donald let go of the card, it hovered in the air as he slammed his wand into it. _"**Thunder!"**_

A bolt of lightning fell down from the sky, slamming down on the gauntlet. With a shudder, it fell to the ground. Goofy began stomping on it, placing several dents on it.

* * *

The Guard Armor decided to turn its attention to Sora. It pulled back its battered arm.

Sora's eyes narrowed, he held up the Keyblade. "You're just a memory." He whispered, "I'm not afraid of you."

The Guard Armor seemed offended by this because it charged at Sora, its metallic boots making dents in the ground.

Sora rolled underneath the Heartless, slashing the Keyblade at its left foot. Black smoke poured out of the wound.

"Sora!" Donald shouted, "Give me one of those red Heartless cards!" The Guard Armor glared down at Sora.

"Um.. OK!" Sora pulled out the Red Rhapsody card, it flashed as a second one appeared. "Catch!" He tossed the card to Donald, just as the injured foot of the Guard Armor spun at Sora.

He jumped over the attack, but then the second one slammed into his side, knocking Sora into a wall. "Ow…"

"Hold on!" Donald held up the Red Rhapsody card. It glowed a bright red color, before vanishing. Donald felt the power… and grinned. "Hey! Ugly!"

The Guard Armor turned its head towards Donald. This gave Sora the chance to pull himself out of the wall.

"Eat this!" Donald screamed, "**_Fire!"_** He activated the Fire card, though if he hadn't heard Donald say the spells name, Sora would have thought that Donald was casting Firaga.

A massive pillar of flame shot out of the wand, rushing over the Heartless like an inferno. The flames stayed for only a second, but the damage had been done. The injured arm and foot were gone, while the rest of the Guard Armor was burned and scorched all over.

"Gawrsh…" Goofy said quietly.

**Now** the Guard Armor was angry. Its remaining arm and foot flew off to deal with Donald and Goofy, while the body and head rushed at Sora.

"Whoa!" Goofy ducked the foot's strike.

"Gah!" Donald threw a fireball at the hand, but it flew at him anyway. Giving him a hard punch to the beak.

Sora jumped to the side, dodging the head butt launched at him. How did Donald do that? Sora rolled underneath the spinning Guard Armor, getting a look at the other two struggling against the other two parts. "OK…" Sora pulled out the Shadow card. "Let's see what happens…" He felt its essence enter him.

Suddenly Sora felt stronger, like he was suddenly as strong as Hercules. Sora smiled, feeling the power rush through him. The Guard Armor charged at Sora. He held up the Keyblade…

The Heartless stopped the instant it hit the Keyblade. It shuddered for a moment, before falling to the ground. Sora could feel the strength leaving him. "Let's end this…" Sora took the Keyblade in both hands. Then, with a shout, he thrust it down into the Heartless symbol emblazoned on the Guard Armor. The symbol glowed a bright white for a moment… the arm and foot suddenly fell to the ground, shattering. The head shuddered, falling into the body. A glowing heart floated out of it, bringing forth a massive explosion. Sora closed his eyes, when he opened them, there was no trace of the Guard Armor. All that was there was a black card.

Sora picked it up and casually placed it in his pocket with the rest of them.


	3. Climbing the Shadows

Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off **Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories** by Disney and SquareEnix.

Chapter 3: Climbing the Shadows

"Sora!" Leon shouted.

He, Yuffie, Cid, and Aerith had rushed into the Third District. They all had weapons out. Cid was waving a huge spear around wildly, while even Aerith had out a staff.

"..." Leon looked around, "Cid... you said there was a huge Heartless here." He narrowed his eyes.

"There- there was!" Cid looked around in shock.

"Yup. There was." Goofy said, grinning.

"We took care of it." Sora held his hands behind his head.

"Well, I'll be a Moogle's aunt!" Yuffie exclaimed, "You took out that big Heartless?"

"Got it." Sora grinned broadly, "We're no pushovers."

Leon walked up to Sora, "I guess I underestimated you." He pulled out two cards, one blue and one red. "Here, I think you could use these better then me."

The red card had a picture of the lion that was on Leon's pendant. While the blue card had a picture of a real lion with a deep red mane.

"Thank you." Sora took the cards.

"Hey! Sora!" Donald called out, "Hurry up!"

"We need to up to the next part of the castle." Goofy added.

"Castle?" Yuffie asked.

"Nothing..." Sora shook his head.

"Heh. Like this whole town is in a castle." Cid chuckled.

"Uh, yeah..." Sora turned around, starting to walk towards the exit to the Third District.

"Sora..." Aerith whispered.

"Huh?" He turned around; she was standing in front of him, alone. Her face darkened with sorrow.

"Sora... this town, it's created from your memories." Aerith said calmly, "Am I right?"

"Um... yeah." Sora nodded. _How did she figure that out?_

"I see..." Aerith closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Then, that means that everything here, even me, is just an illusion."

Sora stumbled back, that hadn't occurred to him. "But... you're a human being! Not a rock or a barrel. I can't just..."

"But you can." Aerith looked at the starry sky. "I can feel it. I'm no different then those cards Leon gave you."

"D- don't say that!" Sora clenched his fist, "It depresses me..."

"But it's true!" Aerith leaned close to Sora. "Beware the shadows of Memory Sora. They'll try to change you. Do **_not_** forget who you are! If you do... then what's the point of it all?"

"I- I won't forget." Sora whispered.

"Promise me Sora!" There were tears falling down Aerith's cheeks. "Promise me you'll never forget those close to your Heart."

"I promise." Sora nodded, "So don't worry." He smiled.

"Hey, Sora! Whatcha standing around for?" Goofy called.

"Huh?" Sora turned to face Donald and Goofy, "I'm talking to Aerith!"

"Aerith left with the others." Donald folded his arms.

"What do you mean? She's right-" Sora turned around.

Aerith was gone.

_Huh?_ Sora blinked, "Oh... coming!"

* * *

"Well, let's get out of here." Donald pushed open the doors leading out of the Third District, the ones that lead back to the First District.

There was a flash of brilliant white light.

"What the?" Sora looked around.

Behind them was an ornate door. The three were standing on a stair case made from a white translucent material.

There was nothing else.

"Gawarsh... wouldn't want to fall down here..." Goofy took a step away from the edge, looking nervously down into the black void.

"It's probably an illusion." Donald said calmly, "There's an easy way to find out." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a single Munny piece. "Watch."

He dropped the Munny over the edge. They all watched as it grew smaller and smaller. It fell further down, until it was just a small speck in their vision. Then it vanished.

"OK..." Donald muttered, "I think it just **_might_** be real."

Sora stood up, standing in the middle of the path. "We should stay in the middle..."

"Good idea." Jiminy said, "I know I wouldn't want to fall into... that."

"Right." Sora nodded, and they started walking.

* * *

"You know." Goofy said conversationally as they walked up the curving stairs, "This reminds me of that other castle we went through." 

**BRRZCTT!**

"What?" Sora asked, "What other castle?"

"You know..." Goofy scrunched his forehead, "Ha- Ho- Haldo... Something..."

"You sure you're not remembering our home?" Donald asked dryly.

"No!" Goofy shook his head rapidly, his hat barely staying on his head. "In that place Sora almost lost the ke-"

**BERRZERT!**

"-yb... something." Goofy closed his eyes, "He nearly lost something!"

"You sure you're not making this up?" Sora asked.

Goofy sighed, "I don't know... I do know we visited another castle. It was strange like this one."

"Well, there's a way to sort this out." Jiminy said, pulling out a large thick book. (Sora had sometimes wondered how the small cricket could hold such a large book. When asked, Jiminy hadn't been able to explain it to Sora's satisfaction. But that's beside the point. In fact, considering the company he traveled with, Jiminy was the **normal** one.)

"OK." Jiminy opened the book, "All I'll do is search for any castle where Sora lost something."

**SKRIZIT!**

"Wha- what's this?" Jiminy cried out in shock.

"What?" Sora reflexively called out for the Keyblade, forgetting for a second that it didn't work in Castle Oblivion.

"My notes... my journal! It's blank!" Jiminy rapidly flipped through the pages. "Every entry, every note, every picture, gone!"

"Err... do you have any other copies?" Sora asked.

"No!" Jiminy choked out, "I only had this book..."

Sora folded his arms, trying to think, "This... it's all too weird."

"Look." Donald said suddenly, "A door appeared..."

It had happened so suddenly, an ornate door had appeared in front of them. It stood out in the void. Yet the stairs continued on beyond it.

"I don't get this place." Jiminy muttered.

Sora shook his head, "That doesn't matter. We entered this castle. So we need to reach the top." He pushed open the door, welcoming another flash of whiteness.

* * *

They were in a room identical to the entrance. The sole thing that set it apart was the words "Second Floor" engraved on the left wall. With a sound like a rushing wind, the hooded person appeared.

"You again." Sora narrowed his eyes.

"Greetings Sora." The hooded person said, "Did you enjoy seeing your memories?"

Sora sighed, "It was nice seeing everyone again... but, why show me a fake town? Why go to all this trouble...?"

"Sora, Sora, Sora..." The hooded person said, "I am only interested in you. You'll have to discover the meaning of your memories on your own."

"What do you mean, the 'meaning of his memories?'?" Donald quacked, "Tell us what this is all about!"

"That's also something you'll have to learn on your own." The hooded person chuckled.

Another rushing sound occurred.

"Hey, jerk, quit hogging the hero!"

Another man had appeared. He was also wearing the large black coat. Yet his hood was down, allowing Sora to see his face. He had spiky red hair that resembled a hedgehog. His face was sharp and angular, two tattoos shaped like upside down triangles were under his eyes.

The hooded person glanced at him, **_"You_** want to test him?"

"Yup. Can't let you have all the fun." He said.

"Humph. Very well." The hooded person tossed a set of white cards at him before vanishing.

"Well, that solves some problems." He said, walking up to Sora, "Hey there."

"What's... what's this?" Sora asked.

"Huh?" He stopped, "Didn't he tell you anything?" He sighed, "OK... this is Castle Oblivion blah blah blah you can gain something blah blah blah but it'll cost ya blah blah blah."

"We knew that." Goofy said.

"Huh?" He blinked, "Then why'd you ask me?"

"Because we still don't know what's going on!" Donald shouted.

"Whoa... easy there poultry." He waved his hands in a defensive way, "Everything will be answered eventually. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." He grinned, "The name's Axel." He leaned in close to Sora, a dark glint in his eyes, "Commit it to memory."

"Um... OK..." Sora stepped back.

"Good!" Axel laughed, "You know what, Sora, I hope we can be friends." He folded his arms, his laughter changing into a deep chuckle, "Because my enemies have a tendency to commit suicide. It's rather strange really..."

"Uh... sure." Sora blinked, _what's with this guy?_

"Good to hear." Axel reached into his coat, pulling out a card. It was red, with orange streaks dancing all over it. "Well, Sora, now that we're buddies, I have a favor to ask of ya." The card suddenly burst into flame. The fire split into two streams. The fires spiraled around his hands. Two solid red, orange and white circles formed. These circles had multiple long spikes sticking out of them like spokes on an inverted bicycle wheel. A weapon Sora recognized as chakrams. "Try to survive!" He rushed at them.

* * *

Sora ducked under the rapid swipe. "What the?" He rolled under Axel extended arms, he pulled out his Keyblade card, activating it.

"Ah yes, the Keyblade." Axel commented, "Let's see if it's all it's cut out to be." He charged at Sora, thrusting out his right arm.

"What's wrong with you?" Goofy jumped in front of Axel, his shield ringing as the blades collided with the flat metal.

"Do I need to explain myself?" Axel chuckled, jumping back.

**_"Thunder!"_** Donald threw a bolt of lightning at Axel.

Axel spun around, deflecting the blast with a chakram. "Now, is this very fair?" He looked around him; Sora Donald and Goofy were moving in a slow circle, each of them keeping their eyes on him. "Being cautious, eh?" Axel taunted.

Without a word, Goofy charged. Axel spun towards Goofy, raising his right chakram to block it. But Goofy turned his shield to the side, jamming it in-between the chakram's blades, twisting it to lock it into place. Then Axel heard an incomprehensible scream. Turning his head, he noticed that Donald was now charging at him. For a second Axel didn't worry, after all, being hit with a stick by a three foot tall duck wasn't something to worry much about. Then he thought that Donald had likely charged his staff with some kind of magic, meaning it would hurt. He twisted his left arm around, barely blocking the strike. But then Donald twisted his staff around in-between the chakram's blades. Axel pulled, trying to get loose, but they just pushed in, keeping his weapons useless. He winced as he felt his own blades start digging into his back.

**Then** he noticed Sora. He was running towards him, like the other two, the Keyblade in one hand and a blue card in the other. **_"Aero!"_** he shouted, throwing the card onto the ground. A gust of wind propelled Sora into the air, right above Axel. He fell down Keyblade first, both hands clutching it.

_That's probably going to hurt. A lot._ Axel thought, _Guess I have no choice._ He let go of his weapons, jumping to the side.

Sora landed in front of him, a few more inches and the Keyblade would have sliced off Axel's left arm. His chakrams had fallen to the ground.

Axel whistled, "Dang that was some impressive stuff!" He shrugged, "Pity it didn't work."

"You're unarmed now though." Sora grinned, leaping at Axel.

Axel curved his body, barely avoiding the Keyblade, "I'm never unarmed." He held up his left hand, there was a flash of fire and his chakram reappeared, blocking the Keyblade. Both chakrams had vanished off the floor. The air rang with the sounds of Sora and Axel clashing. Sora, apparently having enough, kicked Axel hard in the stomach. He doubled over and dropped his chakrams. Axel responded by punching Sora in the face.

"Ow..." Sora rubbed his cheek.

"You know how to fight dirty, I see." Axel muttered. He picked up his chakrams. "I guess it's time to get serious!" Cards flew out of Axel's coat. They span around him, three linked together. They burst into a colorless light. Axel clasped his hands together, before thrusting them out. A huge fireball flew at them.

"Whoa!" Sora rolled away. "That's a little tricky..."

A card flew in front of Axel's hands. Another fireball launched out of it. Then another card moved and another fireball was shot.

"I... suggest you run." Axel grinned, before proceeding to shoot out fireballs like a machine gun.

Sora jumped back, rolled, and all around dodged every fireball. Yet he couldn't get any closer to Axel. "Don't worry!" Goofy called out, and ran towards Axel.

Axel growled, turning his shots to Goofy. But the fireballs burned away harmlessly against the shield.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief. _I need to turn the tide..._ He pulled out the cards he had so far. He looked at the Solider Heartless Card... _Maybe this one..._

"Ow!" Goofy dropped his shield, "That smarts!" The metal was now glowing from the heat.

Axel chuckled, turning back to Sora. Just as he activated the card.

For Sora, everything seemed to slow down. He stared at Axel, as he moved to shoot a fireball. The flames moved at a much slower speed. Sora didn't have to do much to dodge it.

To everyone else, Sora suddenly became a blur. He danced around the fireballs at speeds that defied human limits. Axel growled, increasing the speed of his shots. Yet Sora continued to inch closer!

**_"Blizzard!"_** Donald cast a spell, the ice smashing into the fire.

"Gah!" Axel suddenly couldn't see as a massive plume of steam formed. He felt a presence at his side.

It was Sora.

Axel was suddenly blasted with thousands of blows. The Keyblade raked across his body. Each blow seemed to tear through him. Finally the attacks slowed down as the card Sora used wore off.

"Erk!" Before Axel could recover two arms grabbed him. Goofy had pulled Axel into a tight grip.

Sora took a few gasping breaths, "It's over Axel..."

"Clever!" Axel smiled, "You have, once again, put me in a situation where I'm in trouble." He turned to look at Goofy, "The three of you are good, you know that?"

"Do you surrender?" Donald asked.

"Oh, no. No I don't." Axel laughed, then vanished.

"What the?" Goofy looked around, "Where'd he go?"

"Up here!" Axel called.

The three looked at the ceiling. Axel was hovering in the air, his cards spiraling around him. Linking together in sets of three, then those sets linking together. Until all the cards were combined in a single pattern. "Boo." Axel touched the mass of cards. A huge spiral of flame shot out of it.

"Whaahhhaa!" Donald screamed, shooting a Blizzard spell at it. It didn't even slow the torrent down.

"Not good not good not good!" Sora's mind raced for options... "The cards!" Maybe if he broke the link between the cards the attack would vanish! _Please let this work..._ He thought as he recalled the Keyblade. He recalled what Leon had taught him... he took the Keyblade card. With it he made a two more. He then linked them. A moment later the Keyblade reappeared, glowing with a powerful light.

"Sora! What do we do?" Donald shouted, the flames were almost there. Sora could feel the heat.

"Come on..." Sora drew back the Keyblade.

Goofy ducked, "Wake me up when it's over!"

The Keyblade's glow grew brighter as Sora pulled it back further.

"Five seconds till impact!" Axel shouted from behind the flames, "What will you do? Five..."

Sora began thrusting the Keyblade up.

"Four!"

**_"Strike Raid!"_** Sora shouted.

"Three!"

The Keyblade flew out of Sora's hands, spinning like a propeller.

"Two!"

The spinning Keyblade flew through the flames, making a small hole in the spiral.

"One!"

* * *

**_Authors Note: OK, I really like this chapter, which is rare. Axel is awesome, and I like this fight scene. Oh, and I keep on accidentally capitalizing "link." Heh, that comes from writing so much Zelda fanfiction._**


	4. It's a Wonderland Life

Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off the game **Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories** by Disney and SquareEnix

Chapter 4: It's a Wonderland Life

**_KERSHOOOOMM!_**

The room shook with the force of the explosion. Sora was slammed into the floor, covering his head as heat and smoke rushed over him. The light formed in the blast nearly blinded him.

"Ugg..." Goofy coughed, "What was that?" He stood up. The room was no longer white, now it was covered with thousands of scorch marks. The floors were a burnt grey as well.

"Whoa..." Donald sat up, "That was nuts!"

"Unn..." Sora groaned, "Did we win?" He looked at the other two.

"I think so..." Goofy picked up his shield, now covered with ash. "Gawrsh, that guy was tough."

"I wonder what that was all about..." Sora shook his head, chunks of charcoal falling out of hair.

A soft sound was heard. It was the quiet noise of someone clapping their hands slowly.

"Well, well, that was some high class fighting there." Axel said, suddenly standing behind them. "You guys are **_good."_**

"Gah!" Sora pulled out the Keyblade, "You're-"

"-impressed," Axel continued, "For impressing me, you guys get the prize."

Sora stared, "You... you were just testing my strength." He let go of the Keyblade, sighing.

"Bingo!" Axel grinned, "Now, about that prize..." He pulled a stack of white cards. "Catch." He threw the cards at Sora, who reflexively caught them. "There's five more keys. Five more floors." Axel chuckled, "Five more memories."

Sora nodded, "So these will take me to more worlds created from my memory?"

"You're a sharp one." Axel nodded, "Travel through your deepest memories." He folded his arms, "Hidden inside them lies the answers to questions you might not even remember asking." He sighed, "Just one word of warning... once you find the meaning behind this..." He looked straight into Sora's eyes, "You may no longer be you." With that, he vanished.

"..." Donald shook his head, "What did he mean by that?"

"How can Sora be anybody but Sora?" Goofy added.

Sora looked down at the five cards, "Come on... let's just go." He stuck four of the white cards in a different pocket then the others. The one he kept out had the image of a massive forest filled with giant mushrooms. He quickly walked to the door.

"Well, you guys coming?" Sora asked, holding the card up to the door.

"Of course!" Goofy said as the door opened to a white light.

* * *

"Well, where are we?" Donald asked, "It's kind of dark in here..." 

"Huh?" Sora looked down, "Ga-ga-ga..."

"What's wrong Sora?" Goofy looked down as well, "Not good!"

"You're both acting weird." Donald muttered, "What's so scary?" Donald joined the others in looking down.

They were floating in midair. The small dim circle that was the ground could be seen in the distance. "Oh... boy..." Donald muttered.

Gravity suddenly remembered them.

**_"Yahoohoohooie!"_**

* * *

_I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die..._ Sora thought in panic as the ground grew closer and closer every passing second. "Ahhhh!" 

The ground stopped. It was a warped checkerboard pattern. "What?"

**Thud!**

"Ow..." Sora pulled himself off the ground. "I think we're in Wonderland..."

"Great, Wonderland." Donald muttered.

"Ouch." Goofy rubbed his head, "Well, what do we do now?"

Sora shrugged, "How should I know?"

"Well, maybe we should look around..." Goofy suggested.

They began walking through the strange passageway. Stopping at a twisted looking door. It pulled itself open. Revealing another door, and another, and another. Finally a doorway appeared, "Weird..." Sora commented.

They walked through the door; on the other side was a massive forest. Huge trees grew in every direction, while giant mushrooms, flowers, and multicolored grass filled the rest of the space.

"Gawarsh... I forgot how strange Wonderland is..." Goofy looked around, "What's that?" He spotted a loaf of bread sitting on a leaf. "Hey, food!" He moved to pick up the loaf, but it suddenly burst out into flight. The "loaf" had been made from a dozen or so insects with wings that looked like slices of buttered bread.

"Butterflies?" Sora asked, a little surprised.

"Humph!" One of the insects landed on Sora's nose, "I'll have you know I'm a breadandbutterfly! Much less fattening. To be compared to one of those bricks of flying lard... arggh!" The offended bug kicked Sora's nose before flying away.

"..." Donald groaned, "I hate Wonderland."

* * *

"I'm late! I'm late! Oh dear, I'm so late!" 

A white rabbit wearing a red suit dashed by Sora. Occasionally looking at a large pocket watch with increasing levels of panic. He suddenly tripped over a small rock, rolling forward before crashing into a tree.

"Erm..." Sora walked over to the rabbit. "You OK?"

"I don't have **_time_** to be OK!" The White Rabbit jumped up, "I'm late enough as it is!" He looked at his watch, "Oh dear oh dear! The Queen will have my head for sure!" He dashed off at very high speeds, quickly becoming a dot in-between the mushrooms and the trees.

Sora folded his arms, "I've seen him before..." He shook his head, "Wait... this is just my memory of Wonderland... isn't it?"

"I... I think so." Goofy poked a large flower, "Though it still looks real." He blinked, "Though I bet it's all cards though."

"Speaking of cards," Donald pointed up, "We have company!"

"Huh?" Sora looked up; black cards were circling above them. "Oh man!"

Shadows and Soldiers popped out from the cards. As well as others. Huge Heartless with big round bellies and thick arms appeared, a small metal cap forming their heads, Large Bodies. Small hovering Heartless, identical to the Red Nocturnes except that they were blue, Blue Rhapsodies. Strange heartless with no legs, their light blue arms spun around wildly, with pointed hats of the same color, the Heartless symbol engraved onto their hats. **BSKRT!** Tornado Steps.

"Oh geez." Sora pulled out the red card Leon had given him. It was a Keyblade card of sorts. Sora activated the card, and with a flash of fire the Keyblade appeared, though it was changed. A long, silver handle, with the teeth of the Key shaped like the lion pendant's around Leon's neck. The Lionheart Key.

Sora grinned as he swiped through a Shadow, it fading in a flash of flames. The Keyblade had the power to change its shape to fit Sora's needs. All he needed was a Keychain... or in this case a card. Two Soldiers leapt at Sora, but he cut through them easily.

**_"Gravity!_** Donald shouted, slamming his staff against a blue card. A purple and black sphere formed over three Large Bodies, collapsing down into a disc. The Large Bodies were crushed, exploding into black smoke.

Goofy smashed his shield into the Blue Rhapsodies, knocking them to the ground, where Sora sliced through them.

"These guys don't offer much of a challenge, do they?" Donald grinned, looking at the few Soldiers left. The Tornado Steps had stayed out of the fight so far.

Sora nodded, picking up the cards that remained of the Heartless they had beaten, "Was it this easy the last time we were here?"

"Obviously," Goofy nodded, "Otherwise Sora would remember it being hard and it would be hard!"

"Oh." Sora had forgotten that this was a memory for a while. "It's hard to remember that..."

A Tornado Step jumped at Sora, its arms spinning wildly as it moved. He held up Lionheart, the Tornado Steps arm struck the Keyblade. The other arm, however, spun around and hit Sora in the face.

"Gah!" Sora stumbled back, "My nose!" He could feel that his nose was bent at a strange angle, some blood leaking out of it. "The shupid Hearshless punshed me in the nose!" Sora swung Lionheart down, aiming for the Tornado Step's head. But the Heartless jumped out of the way.

Donald shot a couple dozen fireballs at the Heartless; they just kept on jumping and dancing around the flames. One of them jumped behind Donald, giving him a punch in the back of the head. **"Wahggahhh!"** Donald screamed.

"Whoa!" Goofy thrust his shield at one; it just jumped over Goofy, punching him in the side, "Ouch!" Goofy turned to face the Tornado Step, attacking again. It dodged and countered, again.

Sora growled, "Stupid!" Swing. "Thing!" Swing. "Hold!" Swing. "Still!"

The Tornado Steps bounced around them, landing in front of them. The bounced for a moment, mocking the, before leaping away.

Sora sighed, collapsing to the ground, "I **_hate_** Tornado Steps."

"They sure are frustrating." Goofy said.

Donald said something, but Sora couldn't understand him. The duck was so angry that all coherence had vanished. Sora wondered if he **wanted** to understand Donald at the moment.

* * *

Sora and Goofy managed to get Donald to calm down long enough in order for him to cast Cure. (Not only to heal the injuries caused by the Heartless, but also to fix the minor burns caused by Donald in his rage.) "Well, that was an annoyance..." Sora brushed the remaining traces of blood off his face, "What do we do now?" He rubbed his nose; Cure can only do so much, so it was still sore. 

"Help! Help! Oh dear me, help!" A voice cried out. It was the White Rabbit; he was running back towards them, a very similar panicked look on his face. Only while before the panic was about the **threat** of death, this one was more of a look of panic about **guarantee** of death. There is a subtle difference.

There were these things following the White Rabbit, they looked like large bags, no arms or legs. They bounced behind the White Rabbit, their horn like mouths twitching with excitement. The Heartless symbol was emblazoned on their fronts. **SKKICT!** Crescendo Heartless.

"Help meeeeeeeeee!" The White Rabbit dashed behind Sora, "Monsters! They want to eat me!" There were three Crescendos; they bounced eagerly, stopping in front of Sora. The Heartless seemed to inflate themselves, before suddenly blowing out, making a little tune. They continued to make this song, only stopping to inflate after using their air. "Aren't they terrifying?" The White Rabbit asked.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy burst out laughing. "Oh boy... now **_these_** are some pathetic Heartless!" Donald snorted.

"You think," Goofy said in-between laughter, "that they do parties?" This caused the three to fall onto the ground with laughter.

"Oh..." Sora stood back up, still shaking as he giggled, "Oh man, this is easy..." He called out Lionheart, flinging it over his shoulder, "I almost feel sorry for these guys." Sora began walking towards them, "Well, see ya." He held up the Keyblade, and the Crescendos began making a faster, higher pitched tune.

Then a Large Body fell on top of him.

The Large Body looked around, appearing slightly confused. It stood up; walking off the tiny thing it had landed on. It blinked, peering down at the flattened Keyblade Master. It then promptly met its end when it found said Keyblade shoved through its face.

"Oww..." Sora groaned, "My back..." He stood up, "OK, that was a fluke." The Crescendos changed their tune again. "You things are going down!"

A second Large Body sat on Sora, this one felt **bigger.**

"OK! Weird coincidence!"

A third Large Body. Sora could **feel** his spine slowly breaking.

"Pain..." Sora muttered, "OK! That's it!" He ran around the Crescendos leaping above them.

A fourth Large Body.

**_"Arrrrgggg!_** Sora pulled out a blue card, slamming it into the air, forming three. **_"Thundaga!"_** A massive storm of lightning bolts slammed down on the Crescendos, "I **_hate_** those things!" He screamed.

"Oh dear..." He heard the White Rabbit say, "You took care of those fearsome creatures excellently!" He paused, "Can you deal with the others?"

"Others?" Sora asked, his eye twitching.

Tornado Steps leaped out of the trees.

"Those ones..." The White Rabbit ducked behind Goofy.

Sora said a few words he had learned from Donald, words that he was sure his mother wouldn't like.

* * *

"Hello?" A young girl called out, appearing to be roughly ten years old. She had long blond hair, held back by a black headband. She was wearing a long blue and white dress, with white stockings and simple black shoes. "Rabbit? Dina? Anybody?" She sighed, "Oh why did I have to be so curious?" She sat down on a large mushroom. "Let's see... I got here by chasing the White Rabbit... and before that... I... don't remember." The girl blinked, "Oh my! It appears I have lost my memory!" She looked under the mushroom she was sitting on, "Where could I have left it?" 

"Oh thank you, thank you sirs! I will never forget this kindness!" She heard a voice say... the White Rabbit!

"Yeah, yeah... aren't you late for something?" Another voice, it sounded like a ducks quack for some reason, added.

"Oh no! I forgot!" She spotted the White Rabbit as dashed past her. Well, more accurately it dashed **under** her. She quickly pressed her dress down to preserve her modesty. "Wait!" She turned around, "What are you..." She started to chase him.

"Don't bother..." a boy's voice said, "He's more trouble then he's worth..."

"Huh?" She turned around, a boy followed by a dog and a duck (well, that explains the quacking voice) walked over to her. "Oh, good afternoon."

The boy's eyes brightened, "Alice?" He smiled weakly, "Nice to see you again."

"Do I know you?" The girl, named Alice, said, "I'm afraid I lost my memory, can you help me find it?"

The boy sighed, "Should have known... I'm Sora, this is Donald," He pointed to the duck, "and Goofy." He pointed to the dog.

"Hello." Alice did a polite curtsey. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sora. Then again, if you know me I suppose we already met."

"Likewise." Sora nodded, "It's good to see you not in any trouble." He grinned weakly, and Alice noticed that he was covered with bruises.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, her voice filled with worry.

"Huh?" Sora blinked, "Oh... no, I'm fine. Just some annoying Heartless..."

"Well, I hope you're alight." Alice said.

"We just want to get out of here..." Donald muttered, "This place is insane!"

"Oh..." Alice frowned, "Well, can I come with you? Traveling alone is so dreadful."

"Of course." Goofy said cheerfully, "This castle is dangerous, you know."

"Castle?"

"Never mind." Sora said quickly.

* * *

The forest never seemed to end, trees, massive grass, mushrooms, and Heartless. 

It stretched on and on.

"This is getting rather boring..." Alice sighed, "Even those Heartless attacking us doesn't relieve the monotony." As she spoke Sora sliced a Shadow in half.

"We're not here to be entertained!" Donald shouted, "We're here to find the King!"

"A king?" Alice said, "You know a king? How interesting."

"Oh yes, interesting! A King who is gone, faded into the darkness!" A new voice said.

"Who's there?" Sora looked behind him, "Come on out!"

"Ah but that would ruin the game, now wouldn't it?" The voice taunted, "The game of forgotten truths and remembered lies. Of memories and hearts!"

"Now listen here," Alice stepped foreword, "Stop being so rude and come out!"

"Why should I, shadow? You want to find me? Then first meet the Queen! Or at least her shadow..." And the voice spoke no more.

Goofy shivered, "There was something wrong there..."

_"...painting the roses red..."_

_"Who's that?" Donald asked._

"It came from that way..." Alice pointed towards a dark path leading deeper into the forest.

_"Of **course**_ it comes from there..." Sora said dully.

* * *

_"Painting the roses red! Painting the roses red! Because because because because we want to keep our head!"_

"Have I ever said how much I **_hate_** Wonderland?" Donald said dryly.

After wondering through the forest they had stumbled across what appeared to be a hedge maze. Inside (it was rather easy to navigate through... after Donald started blowing holes in the walls.) they found countless bushes covered with white roses. Franticly running around with paint buckets in one hand, brushes in the other, were living playing cards. They were painting the roses red.

"Um, excuse me?" Alice tapped one of the cards on the shoulder, "Could you tell us what you're doing?"

"Huh?" The card turned around, it was the Three of Diamonds, "What does it look like we're doing? We're painting the roses red!"

"We get that." Sora said, "But **_why_** are you painting them?" He rubbed a little bit of red paint off a rose. "You'll kill the flowers doing this."

"It's them or us!" The Ace of Spades added in, "You see, the Queen's coming here, and she likes her roses red!"

"If she sees white roses..." The Ten of Clubs whispered...

"It's off with our heads!" The whole deck shouted at once.

"How horrible!" Alice clasped her hands to her mouth, "Sora! Donald! Goofy! We have to help them!"

"Huh?" Sora blinked, "OK... sure." He grinned, "Wouldn't want any heads chopped off..."

* * *

It took a bit of work, but they managed to get nearly every rose painted red. 

"There we go." Sora put the finishing touches on a flower.

"It's the Queen!" The Five of Hearts ran over, "The Queen is coming! **_And the roses aren't red!_**

"What?" Sora looked around, "What ones aren't done?"

"Sorry Sora..." He looked behind him to see Goofy standing behind him... his bucket of paint upturned over his head. "There was a wet spot on the grass and I slipped and-"

"Forget it! Run!" A card shouted, and instantly there was chaos as all the cards started flying around, desperately trying to get away.

But it was too late.

The White Rabbit ran past them, a trumpet in his hands, he dashed past the flowers, onto a small platform. He took a deep breath before blowing into the trumpet. A small, squeaky noise came out of the instrument, "Presenting the great and beautiful Queen of Hearts!"

A very fat woman walked into the garden. One side of her massive dress was red on one side, black on the other. Her wiry black hair was tied back in a bun, while a cheap looking golden crown hung crookedly on her head. Her face looked just as large, with at least three chins. Her beady eyes looked about the garden like a wolf eyeing its prey. Her face was set in a scowl.

A very small man peered out from behind the Queen of Hearts, "Ahem." He said in a squeaky voice.

The White Rabbit sighed, "And the King." He said dully.

"Oh goody!" The King of Hearts cheered, clapping his hands.

_What a pair._ Was Sora's sole thought.

"Hmm... what's this?" The Queen walked over to a rosebush... with both white and red roses. One of the roses was half red, half white. She ran a finger across the rose.

For a moment the silence was total. Then the Queen screamed, in a harsh and bitter voice.

**_"Who's been painting my roses red?"_**

None of the cards said anything, so the Queen looked around. Her eyes settled on Goofy. "You!" She pointed to him, "Why are you covered in red paint?"

"Erm..." Goofy paused, "It's the latest fashion?"

**_"Liar!"_** The Queen of Hearts screamed, "You were painting my roses, weren't you?"

"So what if he was?" Sora stepped in front of Goofy, "Didn't you want them red?"

"I don't remember wanting them red..." The Queen said.

"Well, what do you remember?" Donald snapped.

"..." The Queen closed her eyes, "N-nothing..." She opened them, "Ah hah! It makes sense now!" She pointed to Goofy, "You stole my memories so you could vandalize my roses without fear!"'

"That's mad!" Alice shouted, "How could someone steal your memories?"

"I imagine while she was asleep." The King said quietly.

"Oh yes."

"Sleeping's the prime time for memories thieves to strike."

"I remember when my memories were stolen!"

"Well..." The Queen of Hearts grinned, "I believe your evil plot has failed." She pointed to the four, "Cards! Capture them! Then..." She grinned broadly, **_"Off with their heads!"_**

Instantly the cards pulled out spears, pointing them at Sora and the others.

"H-hey!" Sora waved his hands around, "Can't we talk things through?"

"It's either you guys or us." The Ace of Spades said seriously. And with that, the assault began.


	5. Tricks, Lies, and Everything InBetween

Linking the Chain

By Pata Hikari

Based off the game _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories_ by Disney and SquareEnix

Chapter 5: Tricks, Lies, and Everything In-between

_Oh man oh man oh man!_ Sora thought as he somehow managed to block six attacks at once. He and Donald rose up a card, **_"Thunder!"_** They both shouted at once, bolts of electricity shot down at the cards.

It didn't do much.

"What are you waiting for!?" The Queen of Hearts screamed, "Get them! I want their heads!"

_Geez, talk about bloodlust!_ Sora pulled back as a spear sliced through his clothing. A shallow cut was made. It stung, but it wouldn't hurt him much.

However, it did cut through the pocket holding his cards. They unceremoniously fell to the grass. "Oh man!" Sora ducked down, grabbing the small stack of cards. He kicked away a few more of the large playing cards. "OK..." Sore shifted through the black cards, "Donald! Goofy!" He picked out two cards from the stack, "Catch!" The Large Body card went to Donald, while the Shadow card went to Goofy. He blocked two more strikes.

Donald activated the Large Body card. Previously the spears had been a major problem for him. A struggle to avoid every attack. But after he used the card the spears just bounced off his front. "Heh." Donald smirked as the Cards realized they weren't hurting him. "What spell should I use?"

Goofy slammed away six of the Playing Cards. His strength hugely multiplied by the Shadow card.

Sora glanced down at his cards... there was the blue one Leon had given him... He picked up the blue card. "Power!" He shouted, it floated in the air. Sora tapped it with the Keyblade; it exploded in various colors... a Summon. "I call forth... Simba!"

From the light a lion appeared. A full grown male, its thick red mane shown. Simba glared at the Cards.

"What is it?"

"I think it's a kitty!"

"Stop staring you idiots!" The Queen of Hearts shouted.

Simba leaned back, bellowing out a massive roar. The ground shook... and the Cards were blown away.

"OK!" Sora grabbed Alice's arm, "I think now's a good time to run!"

"Right!" Alice said, and the two dashed away.

"Wait for me!" Goofy ran after them.

"Hey!" Donald spun around, **_"Fire!"_** He shot a small knocking the Queen of Hearts' crown off her head. Donald laughed and dashed away.

"Those... those..." The Queen of Hearts' face became red.

"Run away!" A Two of Diamonds shouted, and the Playing Cards left the garden too.

Only the White Rabbit and the King of Hearts witnessed the earth-shattering tantrum that the Queen had.

* * *

"That was a close one!" Alice gasped for breath. They had finally stopped in a very large room. It had a massive table in the center, a huge bed in the corner, and an even larger brick oven on the other side.

"Tell me about it..." Sora sighed, "That lady is nuts."

"She is rather mean, isn't she?" Alice commented.

"Understatement of the century." Donald muttered.

"Yes well, that's quite a good way to stay sane." A voice announced.

"You're back, I see..." Sora groaned. "Come to bug us some more?"

"What do you expect in a world gone mad?" The voice.

"A world gone mad?" Alice asked.

"Oh yes. The voice chuckled, "A world gone mad. Where up is down and down is potatoes. And let's not even start with what right is. The best way to stay sane in a world gone mad is to treat insanity as sanity and to treat sanity as insanity."

"But... that doesn't make any sense..." Goofy said quietly.

A large smile appeared in the shadows. "What do you expect in a world gone mad?" Then eyes appeared, then a pink cats head. Then the tail, and finally the body. Revealing a pink cat with dark stripes on its tail.

"Oh it's **_you."_** Sora rolled his eyes, "The Cheshire Cat."

"At your service." The Cat said.

* * *

There was a rush of wind in the mushroom forest, and with it Axel appeared.

"So this is Wonderland." Axel poked a giant flower, "Well, at least Sora's memory of it."

"Hey! How rude!" Axel suddenly noticed that the flower had a face. It was hidden in the oversized petals, but it was there. "How dare you invade my space!"

"What?" Axel stared at the plant.

"Look at him."

"What is it?"

"He's assaulting Daffodil!"

Axel looked around, noticing that he was surrounded by dozens of giant flowers of every type. Each one of them was whispering to the other.

"Look at the brute."

"I'm sure he's of the wrong sort."

"He's giving me the evil eye!"

_Am I being insulted by a floral arrangement?_ Axel thought.

"I know!" A daisy shouted, "He's a weed!"

"A weed!" All the flowers shouted in a panic at once.

"Oh yes." The daisy said matter-of-factly. "I mean, look at him. A hideous black stem, no leaves, and those horrible red, quote, 'petals.' There is no doubt that he is a weed."

"I **_am_** being insulted by a floral arrangement." Axel said in total shock. He shook his head, "People! People..." He narrowed his eyes, "I'm no weed."

"OK then, what type of flower are you?" The daisy asked.

Axel smirked, "Well, you see, I'm what they call..." he held up his hand, a sphere of flame forming in it, "...a Fire Flower."

* * *

"What do you want?" Sora demanded, there was just something about the Cat that was untrustworthy.

"I'm hurt." The Cat said dramatically, "I thought we were friends?"

"I don't remember us being friends." Donald folded his arms.

"What do you remember, exactly?" The Cat asked, his head rotating upside down like an owl.

"I don't remember anything, I'm afraid." Alice sighed, "And apparently neither does the Queen of Hearts.

"I remember lots of things." Goofy said, Donald nodded in agreement.

"And you, Keybearer?" The Cat turned to Sora, "What do you remember?"

* * *

"Well, I'm bored." Axel sighed as he wandered through Wonderland. "For such a screwed up place there isn't much to do." He glanced at the empty cup in his hands, "And the tea sucks!" He threw the cup away, "Lousy hat wearing loons..." His ears perked up when he heard a new voice shout:

"Hurry up you fools! We need to find them! Their heads won't cut themselves off!"

Axel turned to spot a very fat woman, being followed by a very small man, a White Rabbit, and a full deck of giant, living cards.

"Salutations!" Axel waved.

**_"You!"_** The woman shouted at him, "Tell me which way they went!"

"Me?" Axel blinked, "Which way who went?"

"The ones getting their heads cut off of course!" The fat woman screamed in Axel's face.

"Whoa there lady." Axel waved his arms in front of him, "I'd love to help you... but I don't know what they look like."

"Well." The tiny man said, in a much, much calmer tone, "They look like people about to get their heads cut off."

_Real descriptive these people._ Axel shrugged, "Wellllll... They went thata way." He pointed in a random direction. Instantly the entire group dashed past him."..." Axel shrugged, "Oh well." He pulled a crumpet out of his coat. "The tea may have sucked, but the crumpets are pretty dang good." He took a bite out of it.

* * *

"Me?" Sora blinked, "I remember my home, my family, Riku, Kairi, and all my friends."

"Oh, really?" The Cat chuckled, "So tell me, how do you know that's actually what happened?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked, "Of course it happened! I remember it, don't I?"

"And **_I_** remember being the King and Queen of Cheese. But that doesn't mean I was." The Cat waved his tail mockingly. "I wanted to remember it, so I did."

"But all that stuff really did happen!" Sora shouted.

"Have you any proof?" The Cat said.

Sora clenched his fists, "This!" He snapped, pulling out a card and calling forth the Keyblade. "I have this, so it has to have happened!"

"Ooohhh... that." The Cat nodded, "Well, then, if that's proof enough... tell me, can you remember that?" He pointed to the ceiling.

"Huh?" They all looked up. Swirling above them like a swarm of locusts were dozens of black cards. Instantly the cards began raining down, condensing into a massive sphere of black. A gust of wind blew away the access Darkness.

It was like many black sticks stuck together by twisted joints. Its blood red feet that looked almost like shoes formed the feet. Its head was a spire, red and black stripes stacked on top of each other as if hats. It constantly juggled three flaming torches. Two glowing yellow eyes glared out at them, while the top of the spire leaned down, so one could see the symbol of the Heartless engraved upon it.

A Trickmaster Heartless.

"Good luck, Keybearer." The Cat said, and vanished.

* * *

"Oh dear..." Alice stared at the Heartless, "It isn't here to say hello, is it?"

The Trickmaster stopped juggling its torches for a moment, catching one in its claw, two in the other. It attacked with a wide sweep, scorching the ground as the torches rushed at them.

**_"Aerora!"_** Donald's voice rang out, a gust of wind shooting them all into the air.

"Not again..." Alice mumbled

"OK!" Sora summoned Lionheart, pulling out a Fire card as well, **_"Fire!"_** He pushed the Keyblade against the card, the burning Key blending with the Fire Magic. A spiral of flame shot out like a bullet, exploding against Trickmaster's head.

Sora landed on his feet, glancing to his side he saw that Donald and Alice had as well... Goofy was not so fortunate. "Get up!" Donald knocked his staff against Goofy's behind, currently where his head should be.

"Protect Alice!" Sora shouted, "I'll deal with the Heartless!"

"OK!" Donald saluted.

"We'll protect you Ma'am." Goofy stood up, his shield brandished.

"OK..." Sora held up Lionheart, "Come on!" He rolled under Trickmaster's legs, slashing at them. The Heartless responded by jumping, its wounded legs still acting as functioning springs. It flipped around, catching all three torches in one hand; it dropped down, the flaming tips aiming for Sora. Lionheart instinctively rose up to block.

Sora felt the entire weight of the Heartless pressing against him, the flames from the torches pushed back by Lionheart's own fires. Something had to break...

The Keyblade suddenly spun out of Sora's hands, his grip lost. It spun through the air, embedding itself into a wall, reverting to a card. Gritting his teeth, Sora pulled out the other card, summoning the default form of the Keyblade, the Kingdom Key. "OK..." He held it up in a defensive stance.

* * *

"Be careful Sora!" Donald shouted.

"Can he really handle that creature by himself?" Alice whispered.

"Of course! He's the Keyblade Master!" Goofy patted the girl on the shoulder.

"Like that's soooo important."

Alice turned around, "Who are you?"

"Axel!" Donald clutched his staff, "What are you doing here!?"

"Whoa there." Axel held up his hands, "Calm down Chicken." He smirked as Donald growled, "I'm just checking up on you three." He looked over at Sora, "Not doing so hot, is he?" He smirked, "I guess I'll just have to check up on him." He vanished.

"What a strange man." Alice commented.

* * *

"Umph!" Sora hit the ground, his face burned from a particularly nasty blow from one of Trickmaster's torches. "Oww..."

"Having trouble Sora? How about a vorpal blade?" Axel's smirk filled his vision, "I hear it works well against Jabberwocks. Perhaps a Heartless would be weak against it too?"

"Whatever..." Sora held up a Cure Card, letting the pale green light sooth his wounds. "I've fought tougher enemies then this!"

"Didn't you fight them afterwards?" Axel chuckled, "You remember this big Heartless being much tougher, no? Sure, you know now that it's easy pickings... but when you fought it, well, it wasn't exactly a cakewalk." He grinned, "But hey, memories are one thing. But the rules of this place... the cards... are a different story." Axel roughly patted Sora on the head, "Try something new with em," He winked, "See ya." Vanishing with those final words.

"..." Sora pulled out the small deck of cards he had been collecting from his pocket. "Try... something new." He looked up, seeing Trickmaster looming over him, its torches bouncing in a twisted circus act. "Blizzard... Kingdom Keys..." He pulled out two Keyblade cards, and a Blizzard card. With a flash of light they linked. "OK!" The Keyblade formed in his hands, glowing with a cold blue light, **_"Blizzard Raid!"_**

The Keyblade flew out of his hands, slicing through a torch. Instantly ice bloomed around the two cut pieces. Returning to his hand, Sora threw it again.

_Raid!_ The Keyblade slammed into its arm, freezing it in place. _Raid!_Just as Trickmaster freed its arm a foot was frozen. _Raid!_Other foot. _Raid!_ Trickmaster stumbled foreword, another torch being sliced through.

**_Judgement!_** The Keyblade flew for one last arc, blue trails of light and ice flowing out like a comet. Exploding against Trickmaster's chest, is pushed against the Heartless for a moment, before blowing clear through. Black smoke poured out from the gaping wound, and solid ice quickly encased its entire being.

"...wow..." Donald said.

Cracks appeared in the ice, a glowing Heart escaping from the remains... and the Trickmaster broke into dozens of frozen pieces, its card flying into Sora's hand.

* * *

"What's going on here!?" A horribly familiar voice bellowed.

"Uh-oh! It's the Queen of Hearts!" Goofy gasped.

"Well!? What's with the Heartless, the ice, and most importantly..." The fat woman took a deep breath, **_"Why do you still have your heads!?"_**

"Umm..." Donald stepped back slowly.

"Well, don't you remember, Your Majesty?" Alice cheerfully stepped foreword.

"Remember wha?" The Queen blinked.

"You didn't trust us fully, so in your wisdom you decided to test us." Alice winked at Donald and Goofy.

"I did?" The Queen looked very confused now.

"She did?" The White Rabbit asked.

"Oh yes! You told us to get rid of that dreadful Heartless, if we passed the test we'd get full pardons!" Alice grinned widely.

"She did!?" Now the King of Hearts was really surprised, "She, a pardon?"

"I did..." The Queen blinked... "Of... of course I did! Good work!" She pointed to the frozen Heartless remains, "That thing has been a bother for far too long!"

"Nnn..." Sora stumbled over to the group, "What's going- Ack! The Queen-"

"Good work boy!" The Queen petted Sora on the head, "I knew you would pass the test!"

"Um...what?"

"Come! I feel like a game of Flamingo... um..."

"Why not try golf this time?" The White Rabbit suggested.

"Splendid idea!" And with that the Queen of Hearts and her little group left.

"...what just happened?" Sora asked as Alice, Donald, and Goofy burst into laughter.

"Oohh..." Alice giggled slightly, "I just tricked the Queen into letting us go."

"How?"

"It's like the Cheshire Cat says!" Alice nodded, "Just because someone remembers something doesn't mean it actually happened." She smiled, "So, I told the Queen she had given us a test. Of course, she didn't want to be wrong, so she remembered something that never happened!"

"Good job Alice!" Goofy gave the girl a hug.

Alice blushed slightly, "It was easy."

"Thanks. Now we don't have to deal with her..." Sora sighed with relief.

"Come on Sora..." Donald said, "Let's get out of here." He shuddered,. "I don't wanna spend one more minute in Wonderland!"

"Well, goodbye Sora." Alice smiled.

"See you later then?" Sora said.

"Of course!" Alice nodded, "But, I have something for you." She reached into a pocket, handing Sora a red card. "For you." The image on the card was that of the Ace of Hearts.

"Thanks..." Sora held up the card, smiling as a new form of the Keyblade formed in a burst of rainbow light. A short shaft, with a pink handle and a large red heart where the teeth of the Key should be. Dangling from the keychain was an Ace of Hearts.

The Lady Luck Key.

"Thanks Alice." Sora smiled, "This will come in handy."

"Come on Sora!" Donald pointed to a large door, "I think that's the exit!"

"Sure thing!" Sora walked over, waved to Alice, and pushed open the door.

* * *

"Hmmm... to find is to lose..."

They were once again walking up the white stairs.

"...and to lose is to find..."

"Whatcha saying Jiminy?" Goofy asked, the cricket leaning out of Sora's torn pocket as he stitched it back together.

"Just thinking about what that hooded guy said when we first entered this place." Jiminy mumbled.

"To find is to lose and to lose is to find..." Sora whispered.

"Yeah. He did say that." Donald shrugged, "So?"

"I've been thinking. What is it that we're losing, and to find what?" Jiminy pulled away the needle, "Done!"

"Thanks for the patchwork." Sora smiled slightly, "OK... what does that mean?"

"Well, Axel said that we'd find answers." Goofy pointed out.

"And we've been going through memories to find them..." Donald added.

"And... my journal is blank..."

Sora's eyes widened, "Our memories!"

"What?" The others asked.

"Our memories! What we're losing in order to find something is our memories! That's why Jiminy's journal is blank!"

"We're forgetting stuff?!" Donald gasped.

"...Yeah..." Sora sighed.

"Should we turn around?" Goofy asked.

"...no." Sora folded his arms, "We can't just quit... besides, the door vanished, remember?"

"Oh, right." Goofy shrugged, "I wonder what I've forgotten?" He paused, thinking for a moment, "Oh well, can't remember. Must not have been very important if I forgot it, ah-hyuk!"

* * *

"Third Floor" was engraved into the wall. A bench, with a table and some food was laid out in the center of the room as well.

"Food!" Donald and Goofy shouted, somehow instantly moving to the table and devouring the various meats and bread set about.

"Weird..." Sora noticed a small note on the table, "What's this?"

_Hey there kid. Figured you could use a break. _

Lunch is on me.

-Axel

"...I'll have to thank him." Sora sat down, picking up a piece of ham, "Hmmm pretty good."

* * *

Sora pulled out the four white cards, spreading them out onto the table. "OK! Where should we head next?"

A stone building guarded by two bronze statues.

A giant blue whale.

A graveyard with the full moon shining down

A desert city protected by a giant castle.

"Dunno. We've been to them all before." Goofy shrugged.

"Of course we have! They're Sora's memories!" Donald squawked.

"..." Sora sighed, "OK... let's make it random." He pushed the cards together, shuffling them for a moment, "Pick a card." He held it out to Donald.

"OK..." Donald pulled a card out of the stack, "Here you go."

"Thanks." Sora pocketed the remaining three. "Come on." He stood up, "Let's go!" They walked over to the door.

"Wonder what world we'll head to next." Goofy said.

"Let's find out." Sora held up the card.


End file.
